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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26413363">Safe Haven</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/tentitoo/pseuds/tentitoo'>tentitoo</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>9-1-1 (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Babies love Buck, Buck is a baby whisperer, Buck-centric fic, Caring Evan "Buck" Buckley, Kid Fic, M/M, Post Season 3, There's Buddie but it's not the main focus, Tooth-Rotting Fluff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 12:34:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,221</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26413363</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/tentitoo/pseuds/tentitoo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>Buck kneels down and looks at the wailing box with holes punctured on the closed flaps. His heart thuds in understanding and he quickly opens the flaps to find a newborn baby inside bundled in a blanket. He automatically takes the baby and the blanket into his arms cradling their head safely against the crook of his arm.</em>
</p><p>Or, a newborn is left at the 118 and Buck takes care of them until they can take them to the hospital.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Evan "Buck" Buckley &amp; Original Child Character, Evan "Buck" Buckley &amp; The 118, Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han (background)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>449</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>9-1-1 Tales</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Safe Haven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Okay hi everyone! So... I've watched 9-1-1 five times so far and I fell absolutely in love with this show. Buck stole my heart and I just love seeing him with children hence why I created this absolutely self-indulging fic about Buck taking care of a newborn baby. </p><p>This was supposed to be a small fic but as I was writing it kept getting bigger and bigger because I’m a damn perfectionist and had to somehow include all the research I did on the Safe Haven for Newborns Law of California, newborn care and the fostering/adoption process. That being said this is still a work of fiction and might not be a completely accurate representation of reality, but I promise you that I tried my absolute best to make it as real as possible. </p><p>While I tagged it as a Buddie fic this is foremost a Buck-centric fic that explores his love for children (hence why the Buddie tag comes in second). It takes place after season 3 so there’s a few nods to the Madney baby – I tried to keep those as vague as possible because I didn’t want to assume the baby’s gender. </p><p>I'd also like to let you know that English is not my first language and that this fic hasn't been beta'd so, if you find any grammar or spelling mistakes, please do let me know so I can correct them and provide you with a better reading experience! </p><p>Last but not least, I want to thank <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/HaleyBuckley/works">HaleyBuckley</a> (aka <a href="https://buckleyevan.tumblr.com">buckleyevan</a> on tumblr) and <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/eddiesdiaz/works">eddiesdiaz</a> (same <a href="https://eddiesdiaz.tumblr.com">@</a> on tumblr) for reading it before I posted it and reassuring me repeatedly that it was good enough. They're both great writers so I trust their word. </p><p>Hope you enjoy it! </p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Besides the low volume of the TV droning in the background the 118 is absolutely silent. Everyone had conked out on the bunks after their last call hoping to get at least a couple hours of sleep until the alarm undoubtedly blares again so Buck is alone in the loft reading this month’s National Geographic issue on his phone with only the TV for company.</p><p>Buck nearly jumps out of skin when he hears a sudden earsplitting wail coming from downstairs. It’s not the alarm but he’s on his feet instantly anyway and descends the stairs two steps at the time to get to the source of the noise as quickly as possible. He looks around trying to find it and finally spots a cardboard box right at the entrance of the station by the ladder truck.</p><p>Buck kneels down and looks at the wailing box with holes punctured on the closed flaps. His heart thuds in understanding and he quickly opens the flaps to find a newborn baby inside bundled in a blanket. He automatically takes the baby and the blanket into his arms cradling their head safely against the crook of his arm.</p><p>“Hey! Anybody here?” Buck calls as he gets up, but there’s no reply.</p><p>He goes outside to look around the station for a bit but there’s no one around – whoever had dropped the newborn at the station was long gone. The baby is still crying and it’s cold, so Buck goes back inside, rubbing their back gently to calm them down.</p><p>“<em>Shh</em> little one. I’ll take care of you, you’re in good hands don’t worry,” he assures the baby kissing the peach fuzz on the top of their head. The wailing goes down a bit as the baby seems to calm down slightly.</p><p>This is the first time he’s seen this happen, but Buck knows the drill. He’s aware of the Safe Haven for Newborns Law and that the 118 is one of the fire stations in the area that allows babies to de dropped off. The protocol dictates that a surrendered baby – as long as they’re three days old or under – needs a full checkup to make sure there aren’t any signs of abuse and neglect before they’re taken to the hospital but he’s not a certified EMT. He needs to wake either Hen or Chim.</p><p>Buck adjusts the baby in his arms holding them against his shoulder instead of his arms and making sure their head is turned to the side and their neck is properly held. The baby’s little fingers grab a hold of Buck’s shirt collar and they calm down even further. They seem to enjoy this position better so Buck bounces them a little until the sniffling stops completely.</p><p>“You feeling better, little one?” Buck asks with a smile, looking down to see the baby looking at the firetruck closest to them with keen blue eyes. “You’re a curious one, uh? Well, then let’s go get Hen and Chim, to make sure you’re okay, yeah?”</p><p>Now that he’s more or less sure he won’t wake up the whole crew with a crying baby he enters the bunk room. He spots Hen first, so he moves towards her bed making sure he doesn’t trip on anyone’s turnout pants and boots.</p><p>“Hen,” he whispers trying not to make a lot of noise. He doesn’t have hands available to shake her gently seeing they’re currently occupied with precious cargo.</p><p>She doesn’t even move.</p><p>“Hen,” he calls again slightly louder. “Wake up.”</p><p>Still no movement.</p><p>Buck sighs and kneels down next to Hen’s bed and pokes her with his elbow the best he can without jostling the baby. She grunts displeased and slowly pries her eyes open blinking blearily at Buck.</p><p>“Wha-? Buck?”</p><p>“Sorry to wake you up but I need your help.”</p><p>“What’s wrong?” she begins sitting up on the bed still not fully aware of her surroundings.</p><p>“We have an unexpected guest,” he replies pointing at the baby in his arms with his chin.</p><p>Her eyes widen exponentially once she finally spots the baby.</p><p>“Is that-?” She asks in a normal voice and stops herself looking around to make sure she didn’t wake anyone. “Is that a baby?” she repeats but this time in a low whisper.</p><p>“Someone dropped them at the entrance not five minutes ago. I tried to look around to see who had left them to give them the bracelet for the cooling-off period, but I didn’t find anyone… I know it’s protocol to have the baby checked out to make sure they’re okay before we take them to the hospital but I’m not a paramedic.”</p><p>“Okay, okay. Take the baby to our ambulance and I’ll be right there with you to do the checkup.”</p><p>“Thank you, Hen.”</p><p>Buck does as he’s told and goes back to the main entrance to get inside the ambulance. He sits down on the side seats and gently places the baby on his legs so he can look at them properly for the first time. They fuss a little, but they settle quickly their big blue eyes looking right back at Buck. They’re still bundled in the blanket he took from the cardboard box, but Buck can tell the baby is tiny.</p><p>“You’re so teeny-tiny and adorable,” Buck tells them and then his smile falters. “I don’t understand how someone could just give you up…”</p><p>“I’m here, I’m here! And I’m fully awake,” Hen says as she comes inside the ambulance as well. “Sorry just had to bring my gear back to my rack.”</p><p>“Do you want the baby on the stretcher?”</p><p>“Yes please, it’ll be easier to do the measurements that way,” Hen replies as she gets the equipment ready. “Okay, let me take look at that sweet little thing.”</p><p>Buck tries handing her the baby, but they start crying again. He looks at Hen unsure of what to do – after all his experience with newborn babies is practically nonexistent apart from two or three calls where he helped delivering them while Hen’s a mom of two. She carefully takes the baby off his hands and places them in the stretcher.</p><p>“Don’t cry sweetie, Buck is right here,” she tells the baby in a calming tone and then turns to Buck, “Here give the baby your finger to hold on to.”</p><p>He does as instructed and the baby instantly grabs his index finger and thumb with both their tiny hands. Buck pets the baby’s head soothingly and looks proudly at Hen when the baby’s cries settle down again.</p><p>“This cutie clearly has taken a shine to you Buckaroo,” she tells him with a fond smile.</p><p>Buck positively beams.</p><p>“Or maybe I’m a baby whisperer,” Buck replies with a chuckle.</p><p>“Well, you might just be. I haven’t met a child who doesn’t love you instantly.”</p><p>“Eddie says it’s because they know, that deep down, I’m one of them.”</p><p>Hen snorts.</p><p>“Or maybe that’s why.”</p><p>She unwraps the blanket and gets to work taking measurements, checking the eyes and hips of the baby and taking their temperature. They cry a little when Hen undresses the onesie they were wearing and uses the cold stethoscope to hear their heart and lungs, but Buck rubs their side soothingly with his free hand until they calm down. Hen also checks the umbilical cord to make sure it was properly cut and secured and then takes off the diaper to check if the baby is a boy or a girl.</p><p>“This little lady has clean bill of health,” Hen declares happily once she’s finished. “But I don’t think she was born at the hospital.”</p><p>“Is that bad?”</p><p>“Not particularly, whoever delivered this baby knew what they were doing but she hasn’t been given any shots yet. They’ll give her the shots once we get her to the hospital.”</p><p>That gives Buck some piece of mind.</p><p>“She’s so little Hen,” he comments as he watches Hen put the diaper back on and dress the little girl again. She’s still grabbing onto his fingers with a fierce grip.</p><p>“Her size is normal for a newborn. I think she’s two days old.”</p><p>Buck frowns. <em>Two days!</em> This tiny human has been in the world for two days and someone has already abandoned her. He doesn’t understand how people can be so cruel.</p><p>“You can hold her again if you want to, Buck. She clearly likes you better than me especially after I used the cold stethoscope on her,” she teases.</p><p>He doesn’t have to be told twice, bundling the little girl in the blanket once again and pulling her against his chest the way he knew she preferred.</p><p>“Where was she dropped?”</p><p>“By the ladder truck in a cardboard box, why?”</p><p>“Was there anything else in the box besides the baby and the blanket?”</p><p>“I think there was another blanket inside to cushion her, but I didn’t really check for anything else if I’m honest. I just picked her up and tried to find who had left her there,” he explains. “Do you think they could have left some sort of identification?”</p><p>“Maybe… I was hoping for a birth certificate.”</p><p>“The box is still over there we can go check.”</p><p>Hen nods and leads the way. Apart from the blanket Buck had left behind the box is empty but then Hen notices a small scribble on one of the flaps with a date written that Buck had missed.</p><p>“I guess I was right about my estimative. She was born two days ago.”</p><p>Buck’s frown deepens and he holds the baby even closer.</p><p>“I get it that people who drop their babies at fire stations and hospitals have the right to do so under the Safe Haven Law, but I don’t understand how someone could just give up a child like this…”</p><p>Hen seems to share his opinion.</p><p>“Maybe they didn’t have the means to take care of her and hoped that if someone adopted her, she’d have a better chance at life.”</p><p>“Still…”</p><p>“I know… It sucks.”</p><p>The baby coos bringing him back from his reverie, and he bounces her a little bit.</p><p>“We need to wake up Bobby. He needs to report this and warn the hospital we’re coming,” Hen says.</p><p>“Do you want me to come with?”</p><p>She shakes her head.</p><p>“No need, you can wait in the loft so she’s more comfortable. It’s cold downstairs with the doors open.”</p><p>Before he can even take a step, the alarm starts blaring, dispatch announces a multiple vehicle accident and the baby starts crying. Buck just stands there unsure of what to do, his instinct tells him he needs to get into his turnout gear and jump into action but there’s also a crying newborn in his arms that needs attention.</p><p>“Hen, what do I do?”</p><p>“I don’t know Buck,” she says apologetically before running to her turnout rack to get ready.</p><p>Buck grimaces and shields the baby’s little ears as best as he can and bounces her to calm her down, but the alarm isn’t stopping, and neither is the baby.</p><p>“Buck get moving!” Bobby calls as he comes running out of the bunk already half dressed in his turnout gear closely followed by Eddie, Chim, Jenn Castillo, James Riley and Luke Jackson.</p><p>“I can’t Cap,” he says still struggling to calm down the crying newborn. “We can’t leave her behind.”</p><p>Bobby stops in his tracks and looks at him in alarm as he spots the baby.</p><p>“Where the hell did that baby come from?” Chim asks as he gets into his turnout coat.</p><p>“They dropped her at the station while you were sleeping. Hen just finished her checkup and we were going to wake you up Cap,” Buck explains to Bobby and the rest of the team. “We can’t leave her behind, but we can’t take her either Bobby.”</p><p>Bobby seems to be considering his options and trying to decide who should stay behind with the baby.</p><p>“Permission to stay behind, Cap?” Buck asks before he can make a decision.</p><p>Bobby looks surprised but nods.</p><p>“Okay, Buck you can stay behind. We’ll take her to the hospital when we get back, alright?” he says. “If you need anything there are baby supplies in my office specifically for this kind of emergency.”</p><p>“Yes, Cap. I’ll keep you posted,” Buck assures. Bobby nods and runs to his rack to get the rest of his gear.</p><p>Eddie pats his shoulder in support as he walks past him.</p><p>“You got this Buck,” he tells him with a smile before he gets into the fire engine.</p><p>“Do try to keep that baby alive while we’re gone, Buckaroo,” Chim teases before getting into the ambulance.</p><p>“Don’t mind Chim baby whisperer, I know you’ll do great,” Hen says with an encouraging smile following Chim.</p><p>“We’ll be back as soon as possible,” Bobby assures him again before they all leave and the station 118 becomes silent once again apart from the crying baby.</p><p>“Okay baby girl, I know that was really loud and scary but it’s just the two of us again,” Buck tell the baby conversationally.</p><p>He keeps on bouncing her but unlike last time she doesn’t calm down. He has been reading a lot about babies recently seeing that Maddie’s expecting so he knows that when babies this age cry most of the times it one of three things – they’re either tired, hungry or need a diaper change. It can also be for other reasons obviously, but Buck decides to tackle the basics first.</p><p>Buck goes to Bobby’s office to look for the aforementioned supplies. He has to look through a few cabinets until he finds a box labeled <em>baby stuff</em>. He has to adjust his hold on the baby to make sure her head is still secure but somehow manages to carry the box to Bobby’s desk one-handedly without dropping either the box or the baby which he counts as a win.</p><p>He ruffles through the contents and finds different brands of everything, which makes sense, he knows most of those supplies were donated, but he doesn’t have the time to properly research each brand and choose the best for his small charge and that stresses him out a bit – what if he doesn’t choose the best brand? Buck sighs and looks at the supplies again, he’ll just have to go with his instinct and hope for the best. For diapers and wipes he ultimately decides to go with the brand <em>Pampers </em>because it’s the only brand he recognizes so it must mean it’s at least decent. The formula choices stump him at first – there’s three different brands available so he decides to pick the only one that was donated more than once making sure the one he picked wasn’t expired. The bottle and nipple are the only easy choices because not only are they a two-pack but also the two bottles available are from the same brand.</p><p>“I think I have everything you might need baby girl,” he tells her despite the fact she’s still crying as he looks through the box one last time. “I mean – diapers, wipes, formula, bottle and nipple… If I’m missing something, I’ll just come back for it later.”</p><p>He looks at the small pile of supplies he compiled and frowns.</p><p>“Now I just need to be able to carry everything and you upstairs to the loft,” he continues. “Do you think I’ll be able to?”</p><p>She cries in reply.</p><p>“Yes, I agree. I think we can manage it.”</p><p>Buck tucks the diapers and wipes under his free arm and manages to balance the bottle on top of the formula box. The trip back to the loft takes a bit longer because he wants to make sure he doesn’t either trip and fall or lose any of the supplies, but he manages to reach the kitchen island where he drops all his supplies with a sigh of relief.</p><p>“See? I told you we’d make it!”</p><p>The baby is not wailing like before but she’s still sniffling, so he changes her position from his shoulder to the crook of his arm so he can look at her and she can look at him as well.</p><p>“Okay, so game plan baby girl: from what I read it’s better if I change you before I feed you in case you fall asleep during the feeding,” he tells her as he rubs her back soothingly. “However, in order to feed you I need to sterilize the bottle and the nipple to make sure you don’t get sick and seeing I don’t have a sterilizer I’ll have to use boiling water.</p><p>“So, first things first I’m going to clean one of our pots and boil some water. While that is happening, we’ll change you into a new nappy and then I’ll sterilize the bottles while I prepare the formula and then we’ll get you fed. Does that sound good?”</p><p>The sniffling continues so Buck has to assume she agrees and gets to work.</p><p>“Regretfully, in order to execute the game plan we just came up with, I’ll have to set you down for a little bit. I know for a fact babies don’t roll over until they’re a bit older so I’m gonna set you right here in the middle of the island while I clean the pot and boil the water,” he explains as he sets her down as far away from the stove as humanly possible without her being in danger of falling off the kitchen island.</p><p>She’s not having it though and the wails come back full force. Buck frowns but knows he needs both hands to clean the pot and sterilize the bottle.</p><p>“I’m sorry baby girl but it has to be this way… But what about some music, uh? Everybody loves music!”</p><p>He takes his phone out of his pocket, goes into <em>Spotify</em> and searches for baby playlist to put on. <em>Baby Shark </em>starts playing and the wails come down back to sniffling.</p><p>“There ya go,” he laughs. “Everybody loves <em>Baby Shark</em>.”</p><p>Buck gets to work immediately cleaning their pasta pot as best as he could and boiling some water while humming along the catchy tune. The baby seems distracted enough, so he decides to just go ahead read the formula instructions while he waits for the water to boil. It seems easy enough, he just needs another pot to warm up some water.</p><p>Once the bottle and nipple are in the boiling water he returns to the baby and pauses the music. She lets him know how displeased she is with him immediately.</p><p>“Look baby girl I know you were enjoying <em>Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,</em> but I need some visual help for the next part of our game plan. I know the theory of changing diapers, but I need to make sure I’m doing this right, so I need to use my phone,” he apologizes.</p><p>Buck gives her his finger to hold on to as he looks for a <em>YouTube</em> tutorial on how to change a newborn’s diaper. He finds a promising one given by a Perinatal Education Coordinator that’s only a couple of minutes long and looks simple enough to follow.</p><p>“Oh look, she’s even using the same brand we chose!” he tells the baby happily and reclaims his finger. “Okay, let’s do this.”</p><p>He unwraps the blanket, opens the onesie clasps and restarts the video to follow along. When he undoes the diaper it’s a bit wet and probably didn’t need changing yet but he decides to continue following along the video.</p><p>“Okay so for girls we have to wipe from front to back and never the other way,” he mutters to himself as he watches the video and copies what’s being done.</p><p>He pauses the video and looks at the diaper he’s using. The video is old so the diaper the woman is using, despite being from the same brand, is a bit different than his – the newer version has different drawings and some kind of lining along the sides of the legs. Buck’s not sure what the lining is for, but he clearly remembers reading in one of the (many) books that it’s important that the diaper’s lining is on the outside otherwise it’ll make the baby uncomfortable, so he makes sure the lining is on the outside before clicking on the play button to move to the next step.</p><p>“Okay so now the nappy fold so we don’t to irritate your umbilical cord,” Buck keeps on reporting. “And finally, we pull the Velcro tabs and make sure there are no gaps.”</p><p>Buck smiles at his handywork before closing the onesie again. She’s still sniffling so she’s most likely hungry.</p><p>“Okay, that’s one thing done.” The oven timer he had set for the sterilization rings and he smiles. “Correction: two things done. Which means your dinner is almost ready!”</p><p>Buck washes his hand, carefully removes the bottle and nipple from the boiling water using their thoroughly cleaned cooking tweezers and wipes them. He checks on the water he heated up for the formula on low flame and deems it a good temperature, so he fills the bottle with the amount of water and formula powder recommended by the instructions. He shakes the bottle to mix the formula and tries it on his wrist like he saw on the movies to check the temperature – it seems fine to him.</p><p>“Dinner is served, baby girl!” he announces with a smile and picks her up. “Let’s go to the couch so we’re more comfortable.”</p><p>Buck returns to the couch and positions the baby like he had been taught. This is the first thing he actually feels ready for. Maddie and Chim are taking parenting classes to prepare for their first child’s arrival and he had filled in for Chim a couple weeks ago when a call had gone over the end of his shift. On that class they had gone over bottle feeding, the proper feeding techniques and burping.</p><p>He holds her more or less upright (and oh boy does she fuss) and makes sure the bottle is at the right angle before he starts feeding her. She latches onto the nipple immediately and starts suckling, her sniffles finally subsiding completely.</p><p>“Guess you were hungry, uh baby girl?” he comments with a fond smile.</p><p>Her blue eyes start dropping not long after she starts drinking so he helps her continue suckling by applying every technique he learned at the class. Her eyes are fully closed by the time two thirds of the bottle are drunk and Buck can’t make her drink anymore.</p><p>Buck sets the bottle on the coffee table trying not to jostle the baby and moves on to burping. He decides to try the sitting down version of burping first seeing she’s already more or less sitting down on his leg. He moves his support from her back to her chest with the opposite arm and supports her tiny chin on with his hand and starts patting and rubbing her back.</p><p>“I don’t think this position is working for you,” he tells her after a few minutes of trying to burp her. “Let’s try over the shoulder, it’s the way you like to be held best anyway.”</p><p>He changes position again and holds her against his chest this time a bit higher with her chin resting on his shoulder and begins patting and rubbing her back once again. After a couple of minutes, she finally lets out a small burp along with some spit up.</p><p>“Oh shi-iiirt,” he quickly catches himself before he actually swears in front of the baby and mentally thanks May for introducing him to <em>The Good Place</em>. He isn’t one to swear often but once in a while one would slip and the show’s censored versions of swear words had help him a couple times with Christopher.</p><p>He moves the baby back to his arms and tries to assess the damage. It wasn’t that much spit up, but her chin, neck and the collar of her onesie are wet which might be uncomfortable for her even if she’s fast asleep.</p><p>“I’m so sorry baby girl,” he apologizes quietly. “I completely forgot to use a cloth to burp you and now your onesie is wet.”</p><p>Buck worries his bottom lip for a bit and then remembers the box in Bobby’s office. He’s pretty certain he saw clothes in there as well. So, Buck comes up with a new game plan: first clean the spit up as best as possible with a wipe, second get the blanket he forgot back at the island because it’s cold, third go see if there’s extra clothes in the <em>baby stuff</em> box, fourth change her to clean clothes and, finally, fifth put the baby to sleep in the bunk room so she’s comfortable until his team returns from the call.</p><p>Steps one through three actually go very well. There are a few spare clothes in the box, and he takes them all to choose later when he’s in the bunk room. The fourth step is a bit more difficult because the once he sets her down on his usual bed he realizes that the onesie she’s wearing isn’t wrap style like the ones he had bought Maddie, in order to get it out he’ll have to pull it over her head and that might wake her up.</p><p>Buck looks over all the clothing options he brough with him (three long-sleeved shirts, one t-shirt, two pairs of pants, three onesies – two short sleeved and one long sleeved – and a romper) and chooses the romper because despite being LA it’s still winter and that’s the only option that covers her arms, legs and feet. It also has the advantage of having buttons all the way down the front and the legs, so it’ll be easier to get her dressed and changed if needed.</p><p>“I apologize in advance if I wake you up baby girl,” he tells her.</p><p>Buck tries to be as careful as his big hands allow him to be and actually manages not to wake the baby up until he has to pull the onesie over her head. He freezes when she begins pouting slightly and her eyes open after the onesie is off. She blinks her big blue eyes in a limbo between asleep and awake he’s seen Christopher in a few times when Eddie invited him to his place after a late shift and went to kiss Chris goodnight. If he’s very, very, careful he might just pull it off.</p><p>Her eyes don’t close fully but she’s not crying either so that’s a win in Buck’s book. He uses the dirty onesie to make sure she’s completely dry under her chin and neck and proceeds to change her into the romper. It’s a bit too big on her which makes her look even tinier but it’s better than a wet onesie.</p><p><em>Okay, </em>he thinks to himself, <em>now I just need to get her to fall asleep again and wait until the team returns.</em></p><p>Buck is relieved this has been going well so far. It’s a bit of a trial run for when his niece or nephew arrives, which makes him feel at least slightly more prepared for when it happens in a couple months. He feels kind of prepared with all the books he has been reading on the subject (and gone over with Maddie on their sort of weekly baby book club) but it’s different knowing he can apply what he learned to an actual baby. Just last month they had gone over the sleeping basics and he had learned all about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (and wasn’t that a fun read!) – to know babies could just die for no apparent reason if they’re not put to sleep correctly had made him even more anxious about becoming an uncle.</p><p>“Okay baby girl let’s see if I still remember how to swaddle a baby correctly,” he tells her. “But, just in case… Let’s just grab a reference image.” He takes his phone from his pocket once again and <em>googles</em> for swaddling instructions to find a step-by-step guide.</p><p>A few minutes and a couple of mistakes later, Buck appraises his work – there’s room for improvement but it looks decent. The baby lets out a big yawn and her eyes start dropping once again.</p><p>Buck kneels down next to the bed, puts his left hand over her belly and he pets the peach fuzz on top of her head with his right. Slowly but surely her eyes close completely and her breaths even out. Buck lays his head on his right arm as he watches her little chest rise and fall slowly. His eyes start feeling heavy and not long after that he’s drifting to sleep as well.</p><p> </p><p>He starts awake when he feels a hand on his shoulder.</p><p>“’M awake!” Buck mumbles looking at who had touched him – it’s Bobby. “Oh, you’re back.”</p><p>Bobby nods and suddenly Buck remembers why he has been left behind. He looks frantically over only to find a still sleeping baby and sighs with relief. He feared he had awakened her when Bobby woke him up, but her little chest is still rising and falling peacefully. Buck gently removes his hands from where he was still touching the baby and rolls his neck and shoulders. There’s a little crick in his neck from the position he had fallen asleep and his right hand feels like pins and needles from the weight of his own head cutting his circulation.</p><p>“I’m sorry it took us so long,” Bobby apologizes quietly.</p><p>Buck shakes him head dismissively as he opens and closes his hand to make the pins and needles disappear with a slight frown.</p><p>“No worries, I barely noticed you were gone with such a lovely lady for company,” Buck jokingly replies and then adds proudly, “And as you can see, I managed to keep her alive and well.”</p><p>“That was never a concern, Buck. I knew you were more than capable of looking after her.”</p><p>Buck feels his cheeks heat up at the compliment and is glad that it’s dark enough for Bobby not to notice it, but he can’t help his pleased smile.</p><p>“Why were you sleeping on the floor?”</p><p>“Oh!” Buck gets up as if he hadn’t noticed he was still sitting on the ground besides the bed. “See I’ve been reading a lot of books and scientific articles about babies to prepare for my role as an uncle and they all say that babies should sleep on flat surfaces, but I wanted her to be comfortable, so I brought her to the bunk room. Also, despite knowing she’s too young to roll over I felt more reassured if I was standing near her but I also read that babies should always sleep on their own, so in the end I just sat beside her on the floor and I guess I ended up falling asleep… I didn’t mean to, though.”</p><p>Bobby shakes his head with a fond look and then turns his attention to the baby. Buck notices and realizes that now that the team is back from the call, it’s probably time to take the baby to the hospital.</p><p>“You contacted the DCFS already?”</p><p>Bobby nods. “I contacted them on our way back and told them what happened. We were instructed to take the baby to the Children’s Hospital.”</p><p>“May I go with her?” Buck asks, looking at the sleeping baby.</p><p>“Of course.”</p><p>Buck thanks him and picks her up making sure her head is safely cradled on the crook of his arm – she stirs but Buck rubs her back soothingly and she falls back asleep. Bobby leads them back to the main entrance where the rest of the team minus Jackson and Riley, who had already sauntered off to the loft, are waiting for them by the ambulance.</p><p>“Oh, there she is!” Hen coos making grabby hands at Buck.</p><p>“She’s fast asleep,” Bobby warns them before Buck can even say anything. “Not sure if passing her around is the best idea.”</p><p>They all huddle around him and the baby anyway to fawn over her. Hen and Jenn are the only ones that lament the fact they can’t hold her, but Buck can tell that despite not voicing the same desire Eddie and especially Chim are also itching to hold her. Even Bobby looks a bit tempted.</p><p>“It’s not fair that Buck is the only one who gets to hold her,” Chimney protests. “I’m the one about to become a father, if anyone should be holding a baby it should be me.”</p><p>“Well, it was Buck who found her, took responsibility for her and cared for her until we got back from our call,” Eddie reasons.</p><p>“Okay, that <em>is</em> true but still so not fair…”</p><p>Hen snorts and Buck shrugs rubbing absentmindedly at the baby’s back.</p><p>“Not my fault I’m a baby whisperer,” he smirks.</p><p>Chim grumbles something that closely resembles <em>‘baby whisperer my ass…’</em> that makes Hen laugh even more. Buck snickers and looks down at the baby affectionately – she’s still sound asleep despite all the commotion around her. He’s actually pretty sure that if anyone else wanted to hold her, she probably wouldn’t wake up.</p><p>“Fatherhood becomes you Buck,” Jenn teases him before he could voice his thoughts.</p><p>“She’s not mine.” Buck blushes.</p><p>“I know,” she assures him looking amused. “It just looks natural for you to be holding a baby, that’s all. Like if you told me you were a dad, I wouldn’t even question it.”</p><p>“When I was doing her checkup, the only way she would calm down was if Buck was touching her. She held onto his fingers the whole time,” Hen told them. “Our Buckaroo is a natural parent.”</p><p>“He’s had tons of practice,” Eddie cuts in. “I think my kid loves him more than me.”</p><p>“No, he doesn’t. I’m just his BFF,” Buck immediately argues. “You’ll always be his hero.”</p><p>“It’s just a figure of speech Buckaroo. Eddie knows Chris loves and worships him,” Chim says and takes a quick photo of Buck with his phone.</p><p>“What are you doing?” Buck asks.</p><p>“Maddie’s working tonight so I texted her someone had left a baby at the station and she demanded pictures.”</p><p>“Of me?” he tilts his head in confusion.</p><p>“Of the baby,” Chim replies as he takes a couple more photos of just her this time and then adds with a small laugh, “but you looked so flustered at being called a dad that I decided to capture your face for posteriority.”</p><p>“Chim stop teasing Buck and get in the ambulance, you’re driving,” Bobby interrupts before things escalate like they usually do between those two. “Hen hope you don’t mind staying behind but I need you in case there’s a medical emergency and I also need someone to stay in charge. Hopefully the three of us won’t take long.”</p><p>“Hen did the checkup – shouldn’t she be the one to go with you guys? I can stay in charge,” Chim objects.</p><p>Bobby raises an eyebrow at him. “I thought you’d put Captain Han behind you. You asked me not to put you in charge last time I needed someone to cover for me.”</p><p>“Yeah, that’s true,” he admits and shrugs. “Besides it’s for like half an hour and she won’t be bossing me around.”</p><p>“Just get in the ambulance Chim,” Bobby sighs but his smile betrays his Captain façade.</p><p>Eddie opens the backdoor of the ambulance for them and Bobby thanks him as he gets on quickly followed by Buck.</p><p>“Buck your shirt is all dirty in the back,” Jenn warns him.</p><p>“It is?” Buck tries to look over his shoulder, but he doesn’t really see anything.</p><p>“It looks like spit up,” Eddie supplies.</p><p>“Oh,” he shrugs looking unconcerned and sits down next to Bobby. “I forgot to use a cloth when I burped the baby and she spit up a bit. At the time I just worried about changing her into cleans clothes because I didn’t want her to be uncomfortable. I guess I didn’t realize some got on my shirt as well.”</p><p>“See? A natural,” Hen reiterates.</p><p>Buck ducks his head and smiles sheepishly at the baby before Eddie closes the doors to the ambulance for them.</p><p>The ride to LA’s Children’s Hospital is uneventful a relatively quick seeing the freeways are pretty empty at 4 AM. There’s no one waiting for them outside like usual but Buck figures it’s normal seeing this isn’t actually an emergency – they didn’t even use the sirens to make sure the baby kept sleeping.</p><p>Bobby leads Buck inside while Chimney stays in the ambulance and goes to the reception to talk to someone. Buck just stands there at the entrance holding the baby and watching the comings and goings of the emergency room of LA’s Children’s Hospital. When Bobby finally returns, he’s accompanied by two nurses.</p><p>“Okay Buck, nurse Clara will take the baby now and nurse Maeve will take your statement if you don’t mind.”</p><p>The nurse Bobby introduced him as Clara smiles at Buck and holds out her arms for the baby. For a second there, Buck’s hold on her tightens protectively but he swallows down his apprehension and hands her the baby. Once she changes hands, the baby begins crying and Buck’s heart tightens but before he can even react the nurse has taken her away and her cries fade away behind a closed door.</p><p>Bobby puts a hand on his shoulder and squeezes. Once again Buck has to reminds himself that he knew this was a temporary thing, that he knew they’d have to take the baby to the hospital so she can be fully processed, put in the system and hopefully get adopted by a loving family.</p><p>“Whenever you’re ready,” Maeve tells him holding up a clipboard and a pen.</p><p>“The baby was left at the first station just shy of 1:30 AM inside a cardboard box where it was written she was born on the 14<sup>th</sup> so two days ago. I tried looking for who had left her, but I couldn’t find anyone to give them the colling-off period bracelet,” Buck begins spewing immediately. “She’s been thoroughly checked out and was given a clean bill of health by one of our best EMTs. Our EMT also told me she thinks the baby wasn’t born on a hospital. She assured me the umbilical cord had been cut and secured correctly but she probably wasn’t given any shots.”</p><p>Buck waits for her to write everything down on before proceeding.</p><p>“She was changed, fed and burped,” he checks his watch. “About two and half hours ago and she’s been sleeping ever since. I gave her <em>Similac Pro Advance</em> formula, I used the amount recommended on the box, and she drank about two thirds of the bottle before she completely fell asleep and I couldn’t make her drink more. I sterilized both bottle and nipple with boiling water before feeding her and I also tried to make sure her diaper was folded correctly in order not to irritate her umbilical cord…”</p><p>Maeve writes all that down as well and smiles up at him politely as she clicks her pen shut.</p><p>“That’s wonderful to know, thank you for taking such good care of her,” she tells him honestly and turns to leave.</p><p>“H-Hey,” Buck calls after her moving away from Bobby’s hand. Maeve turns around to look at him. “She prefers to be held and burped against the shoulder and-and that blanket she is swaddled in was in the box with her… So, I-I thought that maybe you should keep it, so she has at least something from her birth parents,” he tells her.</p><p>Maeve smiles again this time more sincerely.</p><p>“Your name is Buck?” she asks.</p><p>“My name is Evan Buckley, but I usually go by Buck,” he explains.</p><p>She nods.</p><p>“Okay Buck, I’ll tell you what – I’ll pass on everything you just told me and make sure that little girl gets the best care possible. If you want to, you’re more than welcome to return once you get off shift to check on her. I think DCFS already has a foster family lined up to take her in but that won’t be until later in the day.”</p><p>“Thank you,” Buck takes in a shaky breath, relief flooding him. “My shift ends in about four hours, is it really okay if I come back here?”</p><p>“I wouldn’t tell you to come if I wasn’t certain,” Maeve assures him.</p><p>“Okay. Okay,” he said and smiled. “Thank you. I’ll be here at 9 AM sharp.”</p><p>“I’ll still be on shift. Ask for me at the reception.”</p><p>Buck nods and follows Bobby back to the ambulance.</p><p>“Why did you tell her 9 AM if your shift ends at 8 AM?” Bobby asks him once they’re driving back to the station. “If you avoid the freeway and take a few side roads you can probably get there in about 20 minutes.”</p><p>“I have to make a pit stop before I go back there.”</p><p> </p><p>Like promised Buck is walking into the Children’s hospital at 9 AM sharp, freshly showered and holding a big elephant plushie. He goes directly to the reception desk.</p><p>“Uh, good morning,” he greets somewhat awkwardly.</p><p>“Good morning,” the man standing behind the desk replies. His nametag identifies him as George Stanley. “Please state your name and the name of who you’re visiting.”</p><p>“Bu-I mean Evan Buckley. I was here a few hours ago and was told by nurse Maeve to ask for her at the reception.”</p><p>“Oh, you’re the firefighter who brought the little girl in?”</p><p>“Y-yeah that was me. I was one of the firefighters.”</p><p>George smiles warmly at Buck.</p><p>“Maeve told me you’d be stopping by,” he gets up to gesture where Buck needs to go. “Just go down the hall that way and then take a turn on the second corridor to your right. Once you’re there it’s impossible to miss the nursery – it has this big window where you see all the newborns. That’s where they’re keeping the baby you brought in and where Maeve told me she’d be.”</p><p>“Thanks.”</p><p>Buck gets there easily and sure enough the nursery is impossible to miss. He stands there for a bit staring at all the newborns inside in awe. He tries to spot his baby but they all look kind of similar swaddled in the same white, pink and blue blanket and small beanies so he gives up after a bit. Before he could knock on the door, Maeve opens it and stands at the entrance smiling at him.</p><p>“Hi Buck,” she greets and then adds at his confused expression, “I saw you arrive through the window.”</p><p>“Hi Maeve,” he smiles in return.</p><p>“Evelyn’s awake if you want to hang out with her for a bit,” Maeve tells him and moves aside to let him enter the room. It’s a small antechamber before they enter into the actual nursery.</p><p>“E-Evelyn?”</p><p>“Yes, we don’t get that many Safe Haven babies but when we get them, we usually name them after the first responders who brought them in,” she explains and guides him to a small sink on his left so he can wash his hands. “Your Captain told us that you were the one who found Evelyn and stayed behind with her while all your colleagues went on a call. You also seemed to care so much about her when you were giving your statement that it seemed fitting to name her after you.”</p><p>Buck’s heart feels like it could burst with joy at any moment. He still couldn’t believe they had named the little girl after <em>him</em>. He can feel the tips of his ears burning, and he hopes that his face isn’t as red as it feels.</p><p>“At first we tried to come up something related with Buck,” Maeve confesses, “but none of us could come up with anything so we decided to go with Evan instead seeing it’s your actual name. It was between Eva, Evynn and Evelyn but in the end, Evelyn won the poll.”</p><p>“It’s a beautiful name,” Buck agrees. “And I really am flattered that you chose to name her after me.”</p><p>“It’s not an official name, though,” Maeve informs him regretfully. “The family that is picking her up are fostering to adopt meaning that if no one claims Evelyn they can adopt her in a few months, so they can change the name if they wish to do so.”</p><p>“Even if they pick another name, I’m still flattered that her temporary name was Evelyn,” he assures her.</p><p>Maeve smiles and leads him to the main nursery room.</p><p>“We really don’t like calling babies with no name Jane or John Doe, so we call them the names of the first responders wo save them,” she keeps on explaining.</p><p>“I understand, it feels kinda impersonal to call them that.”</p><p>They weave through several cribs (with and without babies) until they finally arrive at the crib of one Evelyn Doe who is awake and cooing. She’s swaddled in the same white, pink and blue blanket as all babies.</p><p>“I’ve kept her blanket, don’t worry. I had it washed and stored away for when she gets picked up by her foster family,” Maeve assures him when she notices what he’s looking at. Buck nods untroubled. “I see you brought her a gift. I’ll make sure it’ll get stored with the blanket as well.”</p><p>Buck finally remembers the elephant he had tucked under his arm while he washed his hands and hands her the toy.</p><p>“It’s newborn safe, I made sure of it. I got the same one for my future niece/nephew to have at my place and my sister who used to be a nurse approved of it. It’s a plushie but it also doubles as a nursing pillow, so she’ll be able to use it to sit up or lie against when she’s a bit older.”</p><p>Maeve smiles sweetly.</p><p>“I’ll put this with her blanket,” she promises him. “I need to go check on another baby in the meantime but you’re free to pick her up and hold her. If you want to sit down, there’s a couple armchairs over there and if you need help with anything while I’m gone you can ask for Clara whom you’ve met this morning or Libby over there.”</p><p>The two nurses in question wave at him from the other side of the nursery where they’re attending to their own babies and Buck waves back. Maeve leaves with the elephant and Buck is left to his own devices.</p><p>He picks Evelyn up and holds her on the crook of his arm so he can take a proper look at her. She coos at him and immediately holds his finger when he gives it to her. Buck can’t help the huge grin that takes over his face.</p><p>“Hello Miss Evelyn, did you miss me while I was gone?” he asks her. “‘Cause I definitely missed you baby girl.”</p><p>Evelyn just coos at him happily in response.</p><p> </p><p>Buck stays at the nursery with Evelyn until lunch time. He feeds her and changes her again under Maeve’s supervision who assures him several times his technique is good and that he did the diaper fold correctly last time. They go over swaddling until Buck can do it with his eyes closed and she’s even allowed to sleep in his arms for a while (only after they thoroughly assure Buck that she just won’t die all of a sudden – apparently it’s okay for babies to nap on their parents as long as the parent’s awake, it’s usually discouraged because parents will often fall asleep as well).</p><p>“Are you sure you don’t want to stay longer? The foster family won’t be here until 6 PM,” Maeve asks for the third time.</p><p>Buck shakes his head.</p><p>“Thank you but I really need to leave soon. I’m going to have lunch with my heavily pregnant sister and if I’m not on time she’ll kill me,” he explains with a small laugh and looks down at the sleeping baby in his arms. “Besides I know that if I stay any longer it’ll be even harder to leave because I’ll just get even more attached to Evelyn and I’m already a goner as it is. Hence why I’m doing my escape while she’s fast asleep like a coward.”</p><p>“If it makes you feel any better, I’m good friends with Pat Sullivan from DCFS who’s in charge of this case and she assured me that the couple that’s taking Evelyn in is lovely.”</p><p>Buck smiles.</p><p>“Thank you, Maeve. It does make me feel slightly better.”</p><p>“And you can always come for a visit,” Clara adds and the other two nod enthusiastically. “Join us for lunch even. Our cafeteria actually has really nice food.”</p><p>“Maybe you can even bring the Eddie and Chris sometime – we’d love to meet your boys,” Libby tells him.</p><p>Bucks sputters.</p><p>“T-they’re not really <em>mine</em>,” he confesses looking down at Evelyn so he could avoid the amused glances of the nursery nurses. “I mean Eddie’s my best friend and Chris’s his kid. We just hang out a ton… I do love his kid like his my own though.”</p><p>“Even so, you’re always welcome here.” Maeve reiterates.</p><p>“Thank you, I’ll hold you up to that,” Buck warns them with a roguish smile. He looks up at the wall clock and sighs. “I <em>really</em> need to get going now if I want to get to the restaurant on time.”</p><p>He kisses the soft peach fuzz on the top of Evelyn’s head and hands her back to Maeve. She doesn’t wake up and Buck is torn between feeling relieved and sad about it but in the end decides it’s a good thing because it’ll allow him to make a clean exit.</p><p>“It was lovely meeting you baby girl. I hope we can meet again in the future,” he says in goodbye and pets her chubby cheeks for a last time with the back of his index finger.</p><p>“I’ll let you know when I’m next available to join my favorite nurses for lunch,” he assures before finally leaving the nursery behind.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong> <em>– four months later –</em> </strong>
</p><p>“This came for you, Buck,” Bobby tells him as he hands him a small non descriptive white envelope addressed to Evan Buckley.</p><p>“What is it?” Buck asks from where he’s sprawled against Eddie on the couch. They had both been watching Hen completely destroy Chimney on <em>Mario Kart</em>.</p><p>“I don’t know – it’s addressed to you, so I didn’t open it,” Bobby shrugs and sits on the couch’s arm to look at him.</p><p>“Bobby, I-I swear I’ve never given this address for personal correspondence,” Buck swears as he sits on straight. He looks at the sender and frowns. “I don’t even know any Rachel and Leo Greene.”</p><p>“It’s okay Buck, you’re not in trouble,” Bobby assures him.</p><p>“Maybe it’s from someone you helped during a call,” Eddie tells him. “They probably just got your name and firehouse so that’s what they used.”</p><p>“Exactly, just open it up and see why they wrote you a letter,” Bobby encourages.</p><p>“Yeah, Buckaroo just open it,” Chim chimes in. Apparently, Hen and Chim had put their game on pause to listen in on their conversation.</p><p>Buck looks at the envelope on his hands one last time and finally opens it. The letter is handwritten but the calligraphy is neat enough that Buck doesn’t need any help decoding it. His smile grows as he keeps on reading.</p><p>“He’s smiling,” Chim states. “That must be good sign.”</p><p>“What does it say, Buck?” Hen questions.</p><p>Buck re-reads it once more and puts the letter back in its envelope before looking back at his expectant team.</p><p>“So? Don’t leave us hanging Buck!” Chim demands.</p><p>“Do you remember that little girl that was dropped off here a few months ago?”</p><p>Bobby nods, “Yes, Evelyn.”</p><p>“Mm-hmm, apparently Rachel and Leo Greene are her foster parents and they were finally given the okay to adopt her! They wrote to invite us to the adoption ceremony,” Buck tells them excitedly.</p><p>“That’s amazing news,” Hen smiles.</p><p>“When’s the ceremony?” Eddie asks.</p><p>“They’re still waiting for a specific date but it’ll most likely be in a couple of weeks. They left me their contact numbers and told me to give them a call if we were interested in coming.”</p><p>“I think I can make that happen,” Bobby muses. “But if they let us know too short-noticed I might not be able to arrange for all of us to go.”</p><p>Buck smile falters and Bobby is quick to put a hand on his shoulder.</p><p>“Don’t worry even if only one of us can go I promise that’ll be you.”</p><p>“This is a clear display of favoritism by our Captain and I don’t understand why no one is saying anything about it,” Chim accuses pointing at the pair.</p><p>“Aw Chim… are you still jealous you didn’t get to hold the baby last time?” Buck asks in a mock condescending tone and juts his bottom lip out in an over the top pout.</p><p>“You hogged her all to yourself.”</p><p>“She was <em>asleep</em>.”</p><p>“Excuses!”</p><p>“Bobby was the one who decided that it was best not to pass her around,” Eddie butts in.</p><p>“You’re just defending Buck because you two are canoodling now,” Chim scoffs.</p><p>They all lose it at that, boisterous laugh filling the loft. Even Chim lets out a small snicker before schooling his features back to fake annoyance.</p><p>“<em>Canoodling</em>…” Buck whispers to himself in awe wiping a stray tear.</p><p>“There, there Chim,” Hen rubs his arm soothingly. “You have an adorable baby at home that you can hold anytime you want now.”</p><p>“I can attest to the adorableness of your kid,” Buck says fondly. “But it all comes from the Buckley side of the family <em>obviously</em>.”</p><p>Chim throws a pillow at him and they all laugh again.</p><p> </p><p>“Buck?” Eddie calls as he lets himself inside his boyfriend’s apartment.</p><p>“I’m upstairs,” he calls back. “I’m almost ready! I’ll be down in a minute.”</p><p>“Okay,” Eddie sits down at Buck’s dining table and takes out his phone to check who had sent him a text while he was driving to Buck’s.</p><p>“Hey Buck, Maeve texted me asking if we’re still up for lunch with them next Tuesday.”</p><p>“Why is she texting you about next week’s lunch if we’re gonna be with her in a less than an hour?”</p><p>“Dunno,” Eddie replies with shrug even though Buck can’t see him.</p><p>“Tell her we’re up for it but to remember that it’s <em>their</em> turn to get coffee ‘cause we got it the last two times. Also do you want to ask her if she can swing by the bakery near her place and bring some of those pastries Chris loves on the way to the ceremony, we’ll pay her obviously.”</p><p>“Sure thing Mr. Buckley, I’m on it,” Eddie lets out a small laugh and gets started on his secretarial work.</p><p>“Is this too much?” Buck asks a couple of minutes later as he walks down his loft stairs.</p><p>Eddie looks up from his phone – Maeve had replied with two thumbs-up emojis – and Buck does a full 360º turn to make sure Eddie has a full picture of what he’s wearing.</p><p>“I think it’s a little bit <em>too</em> formal, Buck.”</p><p>Buck frowns and looks down at the outfit he’d chosen. He was wearing his navy-blue suit with a white shirt and a grey tie – he really thought he had done a good job picking it. It was very contrasting to Eddie’s though – while still looking very presentable Eddie was dressed more simply with a forest green shirt and black jeans that pass as slacks.</p><p>“It’s a formal ceremony…”</p><p>Eddie leans forward so he can pull Buck by his hand until he’s standing right in front of him.</p><p>“Yeah, okay that’s true hence why I’m wearing my fancy shoes but it’s not a wedding,” Eddie smiles and gets up so he’s eye to eye with his boyfriend and starts to loosen his tie. “Maybe just lose the tie and the suit jacket.”</p><p>“The jacket? Are you sure?” Buck asks as he watches Eddie unknot his tie.</p><p>Eddie nods and finally pulls the tie free. He sets it on the dining table.</p><p>“It’s LA – it’s like 73ºF outside so I doubt you’ll need it.”</p><p>“I guess you’re right,” Buck sighs and lets Eddie help him out of his jacket. He watches as Eddie carefully folds it in half and drapes it over the chair he had just vacated. “I just wanted to make a good impression…”</p><p>“No need to worry about that. You already spoke with Rachel over the phone and it went well,” Eddie assures him and starts unbuttoning the first couple of buttons of Buck’s shirt</p><p>“That was on the phone – it’s different,” Buck replies and swats Eddie’s hands away. “Will you stop undressing me?”</p><p>“You’ve never complained before,” Eddie smirks but finally takes a step back to inspect his work. Buck rolls his eyes at him but can’t help the small amused smile that takes over his lips.</p><p>“You look very dapper,” Eddie announces and pulls Buck in for a quick kiss by the belt loops of his slacks.</p><p>“Dapper, Eddie? Really?” Buck laughs into the kiss and pulls back slightly, “What are you, 70?”</p><p>“Yup,” he pops the ‘p’ and kisses the tip of Buck’s nose. “Now let’s get going before you actually make a bad impression by arriving late.”</p><p> </p><p>They arrive almost half an hour early but there’s already a few people inside one of the small Family and Law division courtrooms at LA Court. Buck stands at the door a bit awkwardly and Eddie noticing his apprehension puts his hand on his lower back promptly grounding him.</p><p>At the front of the room near the gate that separates the public sitting area from the main part of the court there’s a couple with a stroller – the Greenes and Evelyn Buck assumes – with their backs turned to them as they talk animatedly to people who are most likely family and friends.</p><p>Eddie gently pushes Buck forward until they’re finally inside the room and they immediately catch the eye of an older man who tells something to the couple. They both turn at the same time and the woman absolutely beams at them before walking over them pushing the stroller.</p><p>“You must be Buck,” she says pulling him down for a bear hug making Buck almost fold in half due to the height difference. “It’s so good to finally meet you in person.”</p><p>“It’s nice to meet you too Rachel,” he replied with a big smile plastered on his face as he straightens up to shake Leo’s hand.</p><p>“This is Eddie,” he introduces, and Eddie is pulled into his own crushing hug and handshake. “The rest of the team are on their way.”</p><p>“We can’t wait to meet them all,” Leo says wrapping his arm around Rachel’s shoulders. “If it wasn’t for you guys, we wouldn’t have gotten our sweet Evelyn.”</p><p>“Evelyn? You kept the name?” Buck asks unable to contain his surprise.</p><p>Rachel smiles at his surprise.</p><p>“Of course! When we picked her up from the Children’s Hospital, we heard the nurses call her Evelyn and we were confused at first because we were told by DCFS that she didn’t have a name. But when we asked about it the nurses told us that they had named her after the firefighter that had taken care of her until she could be brought to the hospital,” she explains pinning him a knowing look that makes Buck blush slightly.</p><p>“They assured us that we could change it because it wasn’t official, but it was so lovely that we decided to keep it. Besides we’re looking forward to tell her the story behind her name and how she came into our family when she’s old enough,” Leo finishes for her.</p><p>“I also looked it up and the name Evelyn’s means ‘wished for child’ which couldn’t be more appropriate,” Rachel said. “We tried to get pregnant for four years before giving up and deciding to apply to become foster parents and hopefully adopt.”</p><p>“That’s great! I’m really happy for all three of you,” he tells them honestly. “Evelyn deserves the world so I’m glad she lucked out on the parent front.”</p><p>Rachel’s eyes get misty and she wipes at them quickly.</p><p>“Speaking of Evelyn, I’m sure you didn’t come here just to hang out with us,” she says and turns to the stroller to remove the sun cover revealing a wide awake four-month-old curled up around an elephant plushie.</p><p>“She loves that elephant,” Leo comments as Rachel gets her off the stroller. “We can’t go anywhere without it or she’ll cry. It’s also super useful to prop her against when we need her to stay put for a minute, so that’s another thing we have you to be thankful for.”</p><p>“I’m glad she loves it so much.”</p><p>“Here ya go,” Rachel holds Evelyn out for Buck to take.</p><p>“Oh, hi there baby girl! Remember me?” Buck coos at her and is rewarded with the biggest toothless grin and a pat to his cheek. “I think she remembers me!”</p><p>“I’m sure she does,” Leo smiles at his excitement. “She’s probably a bit heavier than last time you held her, though.”</p><p>“You shouldn’t worry about that,” Eddie replies and claps Buck’s shoulder. “Buck works out specifically so he can hold children no matter how big they get.”</p><p>“And animals,” Buck cuts in but his attention is quickly reverted to Evelyn.</p><p>“Is that so?”</p><p>Eddie nods, “I’m talking from experience. Our kid will be ten later this year and Buck still carries him all the time. He has CP and gets tired easily so whenever we go on family outings, he ends up on Buck’s shoulders most of the time.”</p><p>“Chris is barely 65 lb. soaking wet, it’s not like it’s very hard,” Buck shrugs and keeps on bouncing Evelyn who’s laughing at the silly faces he’s pulling.</p><p>“I never said it was.”</p><p>“Yet I’m always the one who carries him,” he teases and then adds quickly looking back at Eddie, “Not that I’m complaining – I don’t mind at all.”</p><p>“I know. Chris just likes it better when you carry him because you’re taller,” Eddie says matter-of-factly.</p><p>“Yes well, two inches make a difference.”</p><p>“Do they now?” Eddie arches an eyebrow at him and crosses his arms.</p><p>“Obviously! Like for example when we took him to the Zoo a couple weeks ago and fed the giraffes. He was much closer to the giraffe on my shoulders.” He looks down at Evelyn with a conspiratorial look. “I’m sure Evelyn would agree if she could talk.”</p><p>The baby babbles at them and Buck points at Eddie excitedly.</p><p>“See! She agrees with me!”</p><p>They all share a laugh and Buck smiles proudly as he tries to high-five Evelyn to the best of his ability seeing she’s still too little to comprehend what he’s trying to do.</p><p>“How long have you two been together?” Rachel asks curiously.</p><p>“Officially? A little over a month,” Eddie replies and when he notices her surprised look he adds, “But we’ve been living out of each other’s pockets pretty much since we began working together.”</p><p>“Yeah… It took us a while to get our heads straight,” Buck confesses.</p><p>“We’d love to hear that story next time you come around to see Evelyn,” Leo tells them.</p><p>Buck’s eyes shine at the prospect of being able to see Evelyn again in the near future.</p><p>“Oh, you’re in for a treat! It’s one hell of a story,” a familiar voice interrupts and Buck and Eddie turn to face the rest of their team. Hen had the biggest smile on her face as she approached them. “Hi, I’m Hen. I work with these two.”</p><p>“She’s the EMT that did Evelyn’s checkup,” Buck tells the Greenes.</p><p>“It’s so nice to meet you all,” Rachel greets smiling at the newly arrived guests.</p><p>After some more pleasantries are exchanged between them and the rest of the 118 Hen demands to finally hold Evelyn. This time there’s no excuse so Buck actually has to share her, even if reluctantly. She’s passed around between the 118 and some of the Greenes’ friends and family until the judge arrives and the ceremony begins.</p><p>The adoption ceremony itself is quite short. The judge starts by saying that while what they do at Family Court is good and important work it’s also difficult work because they usually have to deal with things that no family should go through – especially the children – so, on the rare days where they get to smile at work it means a great deal for them. She then announces that they’re reunited there to officially create a new family and asks Leo and Rachel if they wish to adopt Evelyn as their daughter to which the answer is resounding ‘yes!’.</p><p>After the papers are signed and Evelyn is officially a Greene, one of the officers offers to take some pictures of Greenes and the judge. They take turns taking pictures, Rachel demanding pictures with every single person that attended the ceremony. Buck ends in four pictures – the one with the 118, one with Maeve (who had arrived with Libby and Clara in the nick of time carrying a bag of pastries) and one with just the three Greenes and finally one of just him holding a smiling Evelyn.</p><p>He struggles to give Evelyn back to her dad not because he didn’t want to (even if he <em>really</em> didn’t) but because Evelyn had a death grip on his shirt collar and fussed every time someone tried to pry her away. In the end they manage to coax Evelyn away from Buck using her elephant.</p><p>“For a moment there I was certain we’d need to take you home with us,” Rachel laughs as she <em>airdrops</em> Buck the photos they’d just taken. They were all set to leave. “Don’t be a stranger Buck, you’re always welcome in Evelyn’s life.”</p><p>“Thank you,” Buck beams.</p><p>Eddie wraps his arm around Buck’s waist and brings him closer as they watch the Greenes get into their car and leave as an official family.</p><p>“Y’know, Castillo was right… You look good with a baby in your arms,” Eddie comments.</p><p>Buck hums in agreement, “Babies are super cute.”</p><p>“Do you want one?”</p><p>Buck turns slightly to look at his boyfriend with a soft smile.</p><p>“I wouldn’t be opposed to it,” he confesses. “But I’m happy with what I have. You and Chris are all I need.”</p><p>Eddie pulls Buck in for a kiss that takes his breath away. Buck should be used to it by now, but he isn’t and he’s certain he’ll never stop being surprised by that.</p><p>“Just me and Chris, uh?” Eddie asks as he pulls away – just barely though.</p><p>“Okay, okay – you, Chris and being a firefighter.”</p><p>“Of course,” he laughs, and Buck promptly shuts him up by pulling him in for a kiss once again.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>DCFS = Department of Children &amp; Family Services </p><p>In case you were curious this was the <a href="https://www.inspireuplift.com/catalog/product/view/id/2296?cmp_id=9360670694&amp;adg_id=97994532434&amp;kwd=&amp;device=c&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjw1qL6BRCmARIsADV9JtYlAxoGewIxz6vJGU0GD4XIK0TTroMN8SQ4MuMvHd_t_-aLULGxsywaApjLEALw_wcB">elephant</a> Buck got for Evelyn.</p><p>The firefighters from the 118 I mentioned are not really OCs because I used surnames they threw around during the earthquake episodes, but I gave them first names and attributed them genders. </p><p>So… What do you think?? I love kudos, constructive criticism and enthusiastic comments about how much you’ve loved/hated it! Please give me feedback. </p></blockquote></div></div>
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